Manager's Choice Employee Excellence Award

Award Purpose

The Manager’s Choice Awards program is a town-wide employee recognition program that acknowledges superior performance by employees.

Eligibility

All employees are eligible for the award – full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees. Nominations for the award can come from any employee (an employee cannot nominate himself/herself), member of the community, or the Town Manager. Employees may receive multiple nominations but cannot receive more than one award per year and an employee may not receive an award for more than two consecutive years.

Employees who receive an award from separate departmental recognition programs are not precluded from being nominated for a City-wide award.

Members of the Employee Recognition Committee are eligible for nominations but they may not participate in the evaluation of the nomination.

Nomination Process

Employees (or a team of employees) as well as members of the community can nominate any employee for recognition. The Town Manager may also choose to add employees into consideration for the award, however the nomination form does not need to be completed in this case.

Completed forms will be reviewed by the Town Manager. He/she may select any of the nominated individuals to receive special recognition during the semi-annual all staff meeting. The Town Manager may also choose not to give any awards in a given year.

The nominator may be contacted by the Town Manager for clarifications or if there is missing information on the nomination form.

Categories & Criteria

Employees may be nominated for special achievement and superior performance in the following categories:

A. Safe Practices & Wellness

The employee continually goes beyond what is required for safely performing their work and ensuring others are safe, contributes to the fostering of a safe and/or healthy work environment, or consistently provides an example of safe work practices. The employee may also have created a solution which provided a valued benefit to the organization in terms of health, safety, or wellness. The efforts went beyond what is required for their normal job duties. Or, the employee showed dedication and perseverance and inspired others in achieving a significant personal fitness or wellness goal.

B. Customer Service

The employee provides consistent exemplary service to customers with an inspiring attitude and behavior that far exceeds the norm and inspires others to achieve excellence in customer service as well. The employee goes beyond the job requirements to satisfy customers and displays a professional and friendly image of the Town. The employee may have also solved a difficult customer-service based problem or found improvements for a Town customer service related function.

C. Special Accomplishments

Accomplishments include meritorious or creative achievements which are above and beyond the norm, including significant academic or professional achievements. An employee may also be awarded in this category for accomplishments that contributed to increased efficiency and/or quality of Town operations or resulted in significant savings or the generation of new revenue for the Town.

D. Heroism

The employee went above and beyond the call of duty when responding to an emergency that threatened life or property. All employees are eligible for this award. For Police Department heroic actions, the Police Chief will help determine if the action was above and beyond the call of duty.

E. Volunteerism

The employee’s volunteer activity and efforts have addressed specific community needs and have had a positive impact on important issues within the community. The employee has shown dedication to making a difference within the community though volunteer activity, coordination, fundraising, or contribution efforts.

F. Ingenuity

The employee has continually demonstrated imagination, resourcefulness, and/or immense initiative above what is required or expected in their job function. The employee may have reinvented their traditional role to creatively encompass more duties or provide better service, displayed inventiveness in building a new system or policy for increased Town efficiency or better service, or nurtured an environment of inspiration and thoughtfulness that allowed for a team or department to better function.

Awards

Award recipients will receive an inscribed plaque and a monetary award at the discretion of the Town Manager. Their name and award will also be engraved on a commemorative plaque which will be displayed at Town Hall. The winners will be announced in the Town’s newsletter and at the semi-annual all staff meeting.

The Town Manager may award up to 6 employees with Excellence awards each year. Only one award per category may be granted each year and the City Manager may elect not to give awards for a given year.

Award Ceremony

The employees will be recognized by the Town Manager at the semi-annual “Minute with the Manager” staff meeting. The awards will be distributed at a Town Council meeting.